PDT Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• PDT Partners LLC acquired approximately 21,608 shares of Kirby Corporation in the 1st quarter, valued at around $2,183,000.
• Kirby Corporation reported a quarterly EPS of $1.67, surpassing analysts' expectations, and the company expects to post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Bank of America raised its price target for Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00, maintaining a "buy" rating as the stock has an average target price of $130.00 among analysts.

PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,608 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $2,183,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,565,693 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $165,650,000 after buying an additional 581,215 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Kirby by 122.3% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 633,812 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $64,022,000 after acquiring an additional 348,665 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the 1st quarter valued at $31,741,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Kirby by 11,498.6% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 194,508 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $20,579,000 after acquiring an additional 192,831 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Kirby by 125.6% in the 1st quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 222,732 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $22,498,000 after acquiring an additional 124,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KEX shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $121.00.

Kirby Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:KEX traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $89.09. 1,380,780 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 730,034. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $106.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.26. Kirby Corporation has a one year low of $83.94 and a one year high of $132.21. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.09.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Kirby had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The firm had revenue of $855.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $851.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.